Black Rose
by EchoGirl319
Summary: When lonely and taunted orphan Cassiopeia finds out she's a witch she is pushed into a society still recovering from war and her legacy is a dangerous one. Haunted by memories of the parents she never knew she tries to make her way in magical world.
1. The Orphan Witch

**Echo: Wow. I have been doing a lot of procrastinating lately.**

**Goldfish: You don't say.**

**Echo: Hm, yeah, well, I felt like it.**

**Goldfish: Obviously.**

**Echo: Smart-alec. Anyways, I know this story-idea-thing, has been done loads of times before but it's rare to find a really good one so I thought I'd try my hand at it.**

**Goldfish: She did.**

**Echo: So, this is it, chapter one. Hope you like it.**

**Goldfish: EchoGirl319 does not own Harry Potter.**

**Echo: Yeah, I'm not J.K. Rowling which is a shame really, just a fan.**

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><p><strong>Black Rose<strong>

**Chapter 1**

**~ The Orphan Witch ~**

_A tall, cloaked figure walked silently through the abandoned streets of the sleeping town, a small bundle held tightly in their arms. Up above the clouds slowly moved, unveiling the bright half moon. The figure halted and removed their hood, revealing long, wildly curly dark hair. Her face was pale and haggard in the silver light, skull-like. Despite this, however, she was still beautiful in a dark, skeletal kind of way._

_A muffled cry came from the bundle in her arms and the woman's attention was on it immediately, the expression on her face a mixture of an annoyance and adoration as she rocked it awkwardly, as if she wasn't quite sure what to do._

"_Hush," she cooed. As it quieted, she smiled down at the bundle, revealing ugly, blackened teeth. After a second she looked up again, glancing around the empty street until her dark eyes landed on a large, dingy looking building, surrounded by a tall, black fence._

_With a determined glint in her eye, the woman walked quickly towards the menacing metal gate. The sign above it read _St. Peter's Orphanage. _Once she reached it she knelt down on the steps, an expression of disgust crossing her face as she did so, and gently placed the bundle on the top step, right in front of the gate. She leaned forwards so that her face was positioned directly over the bundle, her wild hair brushing the dirty pavement. Lowering her head so that her nose touched almost the bundle's – which was now clearly a baby swathed in blankets – forehead she whispered something unintelligible to it before planting a lingering kiss on it and standing up._

_Straightening out the creases in her long, black cloak, she made to leave but not before shooting one last glance at the baby sleeping peacefully on the steps, her face a mixture of regret and determination before she replaced her hood and turned around, taking a couple of steps before vanishing with a sudden _crack.

Cassiopeia woke with a start at the sensation of being prodded. Reflexively she sat up in bed and glared at the culprit, her roommate, Jen Parker, who recoiled at the sudden action.

"What is it?" Cassiopeia asked, the dream rapidly fading from her memory.

"Breakfast," Jen informed her, moving as far away from Cassiopeia as the small room allowed. "Matron sent me to fetch you."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes at the young blonde's obvious discomfort but got out of bed nonetheless. "And you were happy enough to let miss it, I take it?" she asked, grabbing the plain black dress that all the female orphans were made to wear from the small wardrobe she and Jen shared. Jen didn't reply but merely kept a wary eye trained on the changing girl standing only a few feet away.

"I mean," Cassiopeia continued as she pulled the dress over her head and began fastening the buttons at the front, "all you want to do is stay as far away from me as possible."

"Because you're _weird," _Jen snapped, "you do weird things and it creeps me out! It creeps everyone out!"

"I don't mean to!" Cassiopeia defended herself as she pulled on her white socks.

"Sure," Jen scoffed, flicking her blonde fringe out of her blue eyes.

"I don't!" Cassiopeia insisted, grabbing the brush and dragging it through her curly black hair. Once she was done she turned to Jen. "Will you plait my hair?" she asked.

It was regulation in the orphanage to look neat; girls all had to wear the same modest black dresses and long hair always had to be plaited. Cassiopeia despised the system; it was more of a convent than an orphanage.

"Then how did Jamie's hand get burned if you didn't mean it?" Jen demanded, ignoring the other girl's request. Cassiopeia groaned and walked over to her, holding out a plain black band.

"Will you plait my hair?" she asked slowly.

"Do it yourself," the blonde girl told her, pushing the dark-haired girl's hand away, "I'm not touching _your _hair."

Cassiopeia simply shrugged and sloppily began to braid her hair. Once she was finished she looked in the mirror and sighed. Stray black curls fell out of the plait and around her pale face giving her the look of a wild child. Jen, seeming to notice this, sniggered. Cassiopeia turned on her.

"What?" she demanded angrily. Jen was always like this: always ready to point out her imperfections and taunt her about how she had no friends or about how the adults looking to adopt only ever sent a disgusted look in her direction. Always ready to tell her what a freak she was for things she couldn't control.

And worst of all, everyone sided with her. Everyone, even matron and the rest of the staff. No one liked strange little Cassiopeia with her weird abilities and even weirder name. Everyone except Miss Carey.

Miss Carey was the one that had found her on the steps in front of the orphanage gate eleven years ago and had taken her under her wing. She was the only one that cared.

Jen, of course, had shrunk back the moment Cassiopeia had raised her voice. She didn't want to get burned like Jamie Thompson had. Cassiopeia merely sighed and bent down to retrieve her shoes from under the bed. She glanced up at Jen as she pulled them on.

"Why are you waiting for me?" she asked. "Why don't you just go on ahead? I know you want to."

"Matron said I wasn't allowed to come back alone," Jen replied sulkily. "Can you just hurry up?"

"I'm ready."

Together the two girls – one fair and one dark – exited the small room and headed down the rickety old staircase towards the dining hall. It was crowded and all of the hot food and nearly all of the rolls were gone. Jen shot Cassiopeia a nasty look, blaming her for the lack of food. Cassiopeia didn't bother to respond; instead she grabbed a tray, some butter and the last white roll before heading towards the empty table in the corner of the room.

The empty table was her table or the witch's table as the other children had named it. Everyone except Miss Carey and occasionally matron steered clear of it.

As she was buttering her roll, she heard the steady approach of feet and turned her head to see Miss Carey walking towards her. She was a short woman, Miss Carey, with mousy brown, rapidly greying, haired that she kept constantly tied up in a bun and warm brown eyes. Cassiopeia smiled at her and the older woman smiled back, an expression which instantly made her seem ten years younger.

"Cassie," she greeted.

"Hey, Miss Carey," Cassiopeia replied, taking a bite out of her roll.

"How are you? Was Jen bothering you again today?"

"Just a little bit but it was nothing."

Miss Carey nodded then stepped forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder causing her to freeze. Ever since the incident with Jamie two years ago people generally avoided bodily contact with her as much as possible, even Miss Carey.

"There's someone here to see you," the woman informed her quietly.

Someone at the orphanage to see her? Well that was definitely a first. Immediately she thought of the letter that had been left with her when she had been abandoned as a newborn. It had spoken of a promise to return after a victory, of what Cassiopeia did not know. Was it possible?

She looked up at Miss Carey from underneath heavily lidded eyes.

"Is it–"

But the woman shook her head, effectively dashing her hopes with one gesture. Cassiopeia's shoulders slumped in defeat and resignation.

"But I think you'd be interested," Miss Carey continued, "you've been accepted into a school of sorts."

The girl arched an eyebrow. "A school?"

Why would she suddenly be accepted into a school? She went to the same school as all the other orphans, and was expected to attend the same secondary school as them as well. Why should she go somewhere else?

"A school for people like you."

"A loony bin?" Cassiopeia demanded, standing up and backing away. Her exclamation had caught the attention of the other orphans and now they all watched her with wide, excited eyes. "I'm not crazy!"

Someone in the crowd snorted at that, only fuelling Cassiopeia's distress.

"I'm not, Miss Carey! I'm not! You can't send me away!"

"Hush, dear," the woman soothed, taking several cautious steps towards her, holding out her arms. "It's nothing like that."

"Yes it is!" a boy called out from the table nearest to them, Cassiopeia instantly recognised the voice to be that of Peter Stone, a particularly violent one of her tormentors. "The witch is finally going back to where she belongs!"

Cassiopeia saw red.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, turning to Peter and throwing her arms out towards him, causing him to fly backwards off his seat and crash into the wall behind, knocking him unconscious.

"Cassie!" Miss Carey exclaimed as the entire hall fell silent. No one made any move to help the unconscious boy, not until Cassiopeia was out of the room. Miss Carey rushed forward and took the distraught girl into her arms, shushing her softly.

"It's nothing like that, Cassie," she murmured into the girl's hair, "I've made sure of it. I'd never let them take you away."

She pulled back but still held on to Cassiopeia's shoulders, holding her at arm's length.

"Now," she said, "come with me and talk to the lady? She has some things to tell you that no doubt explain a lot."

Cassiopeia was silent for a moment, searching Miss Carey's face for some trace of deceit yet she found none. She nodded and the woman released her and started to head for the door, beckoning the young girl to follow her.

They walked in silence, heading for the entrance hall where Cassiopeia saw matron speaking quietly with a woman she had never seen before. She appeared to be in her early thirties with dark blonde hair and fair skin. She was dressed strangely, like the woman in her dream, wearing a dark burgundy cloak and her hair was pinned up in a bun much like Miss Carey's.

"Matron!" Miss Carey called. Matron, a stout woman in her late fifties with silver hair and a long, pointed nose, turned at her voice.

"Ah, Ellen," she greeted, beckoning for her to approach. Cassiopeia followed a few feet behind, intrigued by this elegant woman. She didn't look like some kind of psychiatrist and she certainly wasn't dressed like one.

"Matron, there was a bit of an incident in the dining hall," Miss Carey informed.

"Oh?" Matron asked, tilting her head to one side and glancing knowingly at Cassiopeia. "Who is this time?"

"Stones, matron," she whispered and matron shook her head in disappointment and disapproval. "I didn't mean to!"

"You never do, Cassie, but it still happens."

"What is the problem, may ask?" the strange blonde woman enquired.

"Just one of the orphans," matron explained, "Peter Stones. Unconscious. Should probably go tend to him. Come along, Miss Carey. We'll leave Cassie here to speak with Miss...?"

"Alder," the blonde woman informed, "Professor Verity Alder."

Matron raised an eyebrow, looking Professor Alder up and down in an almost demeaning way. "Yes, Miss Alder. Come, Ellen."

With that the two caretakers departed leaving Cassiopeia and Professor Alder alone. The dark-haired girl raised her head only to discover that the blonde was staring at her with a look of blatant disbelief on her face.

"Something the matter, professor?" she asked with the slightest hint of irritation.

Instantly Alder snapped out of her trance and reached into her cloak, muttering "has to be a coincidence, has to be," under her breath and removed a letter. She smiled as she handed it to Cassiopeia.

"This is for you," she told her. Warily she took it and looked over the address.

_Miss C. Black,  
>Room 23,<br>St. Peter's Orphanage,  
>Harrow,<br>London_

There was no stamp, though she supposed that was because Professor Alder was delivering it personally. After a moment over staring at the disturbingly accurate address, she turned it over, curiously noting the old-fashioned purple wax seal. It bore a coat of arms, one she'd never seen before: a capital 'H' surrounded by a lion, an eagle and badger and snake. The paper itself was strange too, dry and yellow like parchment. Hesitantly she opened it.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall**

**Dear Miss Black,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster**

Cassiopeia stared speechlessly at the letter for a few moments before glaring at Professor Alder.

"Is this some kind of joke?" she demanded angrily.

"No," the blonde woman told her calmly, "it isn't. You're a witch, Cassiopeia."

"That's what everyone says," she snapped back before muttering, "at least you can actually pronounce my name."

"It is true," the professor insisted, "you are a witch, just as I am, and you've been accepted into Hogwarts where you can learn to control your magic." She took a step forwards as Cassiopeia took a step back. "Have you ever done something unnatural, something you can't control? Ever made things happen when you were angry or scared?"

Cassiopeia nodded slowly, remembering the incident in the dining hall only a few minutes ago. Peter's head had been bleeding badly and he was unconscious. She froze momentarily as she realised the force of the blow might have been enough to kill him. But Miss Carey hadn't seemed too worried; Peter was probably fine.

"Something wrong?" Professor Alder asked, seeing Cassiopeia's suddenly terrified expression. Ignoring the question, the dark-haired girl lifted her head to look the woman directly in the eye.

Professor Alder had pretty pale blue, almost lilac, eyes, she noticed, contrasting sharply with her own almost black eyes with their unusual reddish tint. They took the professor by surprise, she could tell by the way those pale eyes widened marginally and her whole body seemed to tense.

"You're a witch?" she asked, a steel edge to her voice, Professor Alder nodded. "Prove it."

"Very well."

She withdrew a long, thin stick from her cloak and pointed it at the cheap ornamental vase that sat on the small table near where Cassiopeia was standing. She muttered a phrase in what might have been Latin or some other ancient language Cassiopeia had never heard before and instantly in place of the vase there was a small tawny owl. It hooted once before stretching its wings and flying over to Professor Alder, landing on her outstretched hand. Cassiopeia blinked once, twice. Verity Alder really was a witch! And Cassiopeia was one too...

"You see?"

The girl nodded and looked back down at the letter.

"It says 'we await your owl'. What does that mean? I don't have an owl."

"In the wizarding world we use owls instead of a postal service," the professor explained, "Hogwarts merely wants a reply to know whether or not you want to attend. Do you?"

"Yes!" Cassiopeia exclaimed, anything to get her away from the orphanage. And she would be able to learn how to control her magic. Magic! She had magic! "Of course I do. I still don't have an owl though."

"I will inform the headmistress that you are willing to attend and, if you wish, you can buy your own owl in Diagon Alley. You see that other letter," she pointed to the second letter in the envelope, "that's your booklist. I've also enclosed directions to Diagon Alley. I'm sure one of the staff can take you, can't they."

Cassiopeia nodded; overwhelmed by the sudden turn her life had taken. "Miss Carey will take me."

"Good. I'll see you in Hogwarts on the 1st September then."

She transformed the owl back into the ugly vase it had been before and levitated it back to its original spot on the table whilst Cassiopeia watched with wide eyes. Slipping her wand back into her pocket she turned to leave.

"Wait, professor!" Cassiopeia called, halting her before she could reach the door.

"Yes, Miss Black?" she looked over her shoulder, reaching out for the door handle.

"What do you teach?"

The woman smiled. "Did you see what I did to that vase?" Cassiopeia nodded. "That's called transfiguration, that's what I teach."

_Transfiguration: turning one object into another, _she memorised and smiled at her future teacher.

"See you in class then."

"Goodbye, Cassiopeia."

And with that, Verity Alder opened the door and exited the orphanage, closing it behind her. From the other side of the wood, Cassiopeia heard a loud _crack _and was suddenly reminded of her dream. There had been a _crack _in it too, just as the woman disappeared. Was that teleportation? If it was, it was something she definitely wanted to learn.

"Cassie?" came a voice from behind her. Cassiopeia turned to see that Miss Carey had just entered the hall.

"How's Peter?" the dark-haired girl asked, concerned.

"Shocked," the caretaker replied, "but he'll be fine. Just a cut and some bruising."

She was never going to hear the end of this, not from the orphans anyway. It was like Jamie all over again. At least now she was going away to a magical boarding school so she wouldn't have to put up with it. She forced a smile.

"That's good. I didn't mean to hurt him, really."

"I know, sweetheart," Miss Carey replied, walking forward and pulling Cassiopeia into a hug which the young girl returned.

"Will you come with me to Diagon Alley to get my school things?" she asked once Miss Carey let go.

"Yes, dear," the woman responded, "we can go tomorrow."

"I'm a witch, Miss Carey," she said, the emotionless dam finally breaking as she was flooded with excitement, "all those things that happen to me; it's magic! Magic, can you believe it? And now I'm going to magic school."

"Cassiopeia Bellatrix Riddle Black," Miss Carey said, grasping her shoulders. She frowned at the use of her full name, the name that had been on the letter found with her abandoned newborn self (it was too long and complicated, generally she shortened it to Cassie Black, mainly due to people's inability to pronounce her first name), "you are going to be an amazing witch and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

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><p><strong>Echo: So? How was it? I'd really appreciate if you would review so I know whether or not I should continue.<strong>

**Goldfish: Yes, review.**

**Echo: Are you just going to echo everything I say?**

**Goldfish: Why would I you everything you say.**

**Echo: *rolls eyes* You know what I mean.**

**Goldfish: No, really, I don't.**

**Echo: Just ask the readers to review.**

**Goldfish: Review, now!**

**Echo: *glares***

**Goldfish: ...Please...**


	2. First Friend

**Black Rose**

**Chapter 2**

**~ First Friend ~**

Diagon Alley was different from anything she'd ever seen; it was amazing. She felt more at home on this one magical street than she had ever felt in the orphanage. She skipped joyfully through the crowd of witches and wizarding, twirling after every couple of steps. Miss Carey walked a few paces behind her, not nearly as comfortable as her young ward, shying nervously away from any of the strangely cloaked figures that came too close.

"Cassie! Cassie!" she called after the easily recognisable wild mass of curly dark hair. "Slow down!"

The girl stopped and turned around, a wide smile plastered across her face. It was a pleasant change from her normal, sullen expression and Miss Carey probably would have appreciated it more were she not feeling so awkward in this strange, different world yet she smiled back nonetheless.

"Sorry, Miss Carey," Cassiopeia apologised. "Do you have the money? Where should we go first?"

Miss Carey barely repressed a shudder at the memory of exchanging the money she had brought with her into the wizard currency (sickles, knuts and galleons, was it? What peculiar names). She was completely prepared to support Cassiopeia and her newfound abilities but she most certainly did not want to come face to face with one of those horrible little goblin creatures again. Turning her attention back to Cassiopeia she forced a smile.

"Wherever you want to, dear."

Cassiopeia looked at her for a moment, scrutinizing her with dark, red-tinted eyes, before stepping closer and speaking to the woman.

"You don't like it here, do you?" she asked, sounding disappointed. Miss Carey put a hand on her ward's shoulder and sighed. Internally, however, she was somewhat disturbed: she had never quite gotten over how Cassiopeia always seemed to be able to read her mind. Either that or the girl just had brilliant observation skills.

"It's not quite my style, dear," Miss Carey replied, "I think I'm a little bit too old for magic. But here's an idea; I give you the money and you can go on and buy whatever you need and I'll meet you at the bookshop just outside the alley in say... two hours?"

Cassiopeia brightened significantly at that and Miss Carey smiled at her and handed over the heavy purse full of gold, silver and copper coins. Usually Miss Carey wouldn't allow any eleven-year-old to run around town on their own with so much money but Cassiopeia was responsible and fiercely independent. She wouldn't mind being by herself – she would relish it if anything, having some time to herself without being bothered by the other orphans or adult supervision – and she wouldn't do anything silly like waste the money on sweeties. And she had no trouble looking out for herself.

"Sure," she said, taking the purse and holding it tightly by her side. The stupid black dress didn't have any pockets so she'd need to keep an extra close grip on it. Just because the street was magical didn't mean it wasn't riddled with pickpockets. She grinned at Miss Carey. "See you then."

She offered Miss Carey a small wave and began to turn around, ready to head further into Diagon Alley and explore.

"Cassie-" she heard Miss Carey call.

"Don't worry," she cut her off, looking at the aging woman over her shoulder, "I'll be completely fine. See you at the bookshop in a few hours."

And with that she took off, the purse clutched tightly in her right hand and her booklist in her left, leaving Miss Carey standing alone in the middle of the Diagon Alley.

_Now, where to first? _Cassiopeia asked herself. She was standing in front of a shop called "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions". Peering inside she could see that it was, quite clearly, a clothes' shop, or rather a robes' shop. Glancing at the list in her hand saw the required uniform. Madam Malkin's was the only shop she had seen that looked remotely like it might sell such a thing she decided to enter.

It seemed like she'd come to the right place. The shop's interior was well-lit and mostly red in colour with wood panelling. The place was practically littered with school uniforms and plain black robes and pointed hats, perfectly matching the description on her list. It was also crowded with youngsters, the majority of them her own age, some older, and their parents. The queue, much to Cassiopeia's irritation, was enormous. With a groan she got into line behind a boy about her own age with the most peculiar turquoise hair she'd ever seen.

He was going to be in her year, that was her automatic assumption, and he looked like an interesting sort of boy. Decidedly she reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. He immediately spun around to look at her. He had a pale, heart-shaped face and large, curiously magenta eyes.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Uh, hi?" he asked. She smiled uncertainly at him, feeling undeniably awkward and beginning to regret making the decision to start a conversation in the first place. The boy didn't appear any more comfortable than she.

"Um, is this going to be your first year at Hogwarts?" she asked after a moment. The boy nodded eagerly, instantly excited at the mention of the magical school, his hair turning bright yellow. Cassiopeia gasped. "How did you _do _that?"

"Oh," the boy said, sounding embarrassed as he reached up and fingered his now yellow bangs, "I'm a metamorphmagus. I can't fully control it yet, though?"

"A what?"

"A met-a-morph-morph-mag-us," the boy repeated slowly, spelling it out for her, "it means that I can change my appearance at will."

"Really?" Cassiopeia asked. "That's amazing. I wish I could do something like that."

The boy blushed. "Yeah, well..." he drifted off before brightening again. "Is this your first year too?"

"Yeah," Cassiopeia replied.

"Cool," the boy exclaimed, "maybe we'll be in the same house!"

"House?" she repeated, confused, "I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be a castle."

The boy laughed and she frowned at him, willing him to explain. "No, not houses like that. All the students at Hogwarts are split into four groups called houses, each one named after one of the four founders of the school."

Cassiopeia nodded in understanding. That made a lot more sense.

"Are you muggleborn?" he asked curiously and internally Cassiopeia growled. Again with the terms she didn't know the meaning of. Stupid wizard jargon. Seeing that she didn't understand the boy was quick to explain. "A muggleborn is someone with non-magic parents. And a muggle is someone who doesn't have magic at all."

"Oh. Well, I guess so. I wouldn't really know. I knew met my parents."

"Sorry," the boy said quickly, hoping he hadn't offended her. "I never knew mine either." He seemed saddened for a moment, his hair turning a dull brown before flashing black to turquoise. He held out his hand to her. "I'm Teddy Lupin, by the way."

She shook his outstretched hand. "Cassie Black."

"Nice to meet you. You know," he said, looking her up and down, "you might not be muggleborn after all."

"Why not?" she asked, glancing over his shoulder only to see that the queue had only shortened minimally.

"The House of Black was a really rich and important wizarding family but the name died out when my godfather's godfather died thirteen years ago."

Her, born into a rich and important wizarding family? Just the suggestion made her want to burst out laughing. Her, Cassie the orphan? Unlikely.

"Doubt it," she told Teddy, "Black's a pretty common name in the... muggle world."

She tested the word on her tongue. _Muggle. _It sounded strange, foreign, but she supposed she would get used to it in a couple of months. Teddy just shrugged. Then Cassiopeia noticed that he was one of the few children (the eleven-year-olds anyway), including herself, who didn't have an adult accompanying them.

"You're on your own," she observed.

"So are you," he shot back.

"Yeah, well, Miss Carey – that's the woman from the orphanage who brought me here – didn't really want to hang around with wizards and stuff, she found it weird, you know?"

"You live in an orphanage?" Teddy gasped. Cassiopeia nodded. "That's awful."

"Tell me about it," she sighed. "So why are you by yourself?"

"Well, my grandma went to look Flourish and Blotts for some book by this author she likes. She's buying my school books too. My godfather's here as well but he went with Aunt Ginny and their oldest son, James, to look at the brooms and quidditch stuff. I said I'd meet them at the ice cream parlour after I've gotten my robes, wand and owl."

_Wands! _That was the part of the trip to Diagon Alley that she had been looking forward to most. She couldn't wait to get her own wand. It would take a lot longer though if she didn't have a guide.

"Is it okay if I come with you?" she asked Teddy. "I don't really know my way around and you can tell me all about Hogwarts."

"Sure," Teddy agreed just as a squat, middle-aged witch dressed in mauve standing next to a small stool called "NEXT!"

Teddy walked forwards, Cassiopeia right behind him. The witch near the stool with the measuring tape she assumed to be Madam Malkin, the owner of the shop. She gestured for Teddy to stand up on the stool and quickly took his measurements before passing him a pile of clothes.

"Try these on for size, dear," she told him and Teddy disappeared into one of the stalls behind her. She called for the next customer and Cassiopeia stepped forwards.

"Oh, hello, dear. Come on, up onto the stool."

Cassiopeia obliged and Madam Malkin turned to face her, measuring tape at the ready. She froze, however, much as Professor Alder had, when she got a clear look at Cassiopeia's face.

"Is something wrong?" the young girl asked innocently and Madam Malkin shook her head rapidly, as if she were dispelling an illusion.

"No, sorry, dear. For a second there I thought..." but she broke off abruptly and Cassiopeia, though irritated, decided not to pursue the subject. The older witch measured her in silence before passing her a pile of robes, instructing her to try them on, just as Teddy emerged.

"Perfect fit," he announced, passing Madam Malkin a handful of coins. He then folded his arms across his chest and told Cassiopeia to hurry up so they could go get their wands. Cassiopeia rolled her eyes and entered the stall, which was surprisingly bigger on the inside, but she changed quickly as she too wanted to get her wand as soon as possible.

The robes were a perfect fit and she told Madam Malkin so when she was once again wearing the drab, ugly black dress, half wishing that she was still wearing the much more comfortable school uniform. She handed over the five gold coins and two silver coins that Madam Malkin asked and then left the shop with Teddy, glad to be out of the crowded space.

"So tell me about the four houses," she implored as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"Well," Teddy began, "they're named after the four founders of the school. There's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

"And how do you know which house you're going to be put in?"

"You don't. The Sorting Hat chooses for you. The Sorting Hat's basically a hat that talks and when you arrive at Hogwarts it gets put on your head and it decides what house you're in."

"A talking hat?" she repeated, awed. It was all so much to take in. "Wow."

"Tell me about it," Teddy laughed.

"So what do the four houses represent? What traits do you need to get into them?"

"Well," Teddy drawled and Cassiopeia latched onto his arm, eager to hear what he had to say, "they say Gryffindors are supposed to be brave and courageous, Hufflepuffs are meant to be loyal, Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart and Slytherins are supposed to be cunning."

Cassiopeia nodded in understanding. She would have appreciated it if he had gone into more detail but his vague summary was good enough for her.

"And what house do you want to be in?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Gryffindor," he replied immediately. "My dad was in Gryffindor, so was my godfather but my mum was in Hufflepuff and my grandma was in Slytherin. How about you?"

"Dunno," she shrugged, "don't mind, I suppose, as long as I actually end up sorted and they don't throw me out."

"My godfather told me about his sorting and how he was worried he wouldn't get sorted at all and they wouldn't accept him."

"Interesting. So were both your parents wizards?"

"Yep," Teddy replied then suddenly came to a halt, his hair turned neon green. "Here we are: Ollivanders."

Cassiopeia looked up to see that they had reached a narrow, rather shabby looking shop at the end of the street. _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C. _was spelt out on the door in large, peeling gold letters. She glanced at her newfound friend.

"382 B.C.?" she commented to him. "That's a long time. It's not been the same guy all along, has it?"

Teddy shook his head. "Family business," he informed her before heading over and pushing open the door, "well come on."

Hesitantly, Cassiopeia followed him into the small shop. Inside it was dry and dusty, the place was flooded with thousands of narrow boxes piled all the way up to the ceiling yet completely devoid of furniture expect for a single spindly chair. Just being here put her on edge. She could practically feel the magic around her; the air was tingling with it. Instinctually the two youths moved closer together.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice greeted them and both Teddy and Cassiopeia leapt back in surprise. Teddy subsequently stumbled and tripped on the leg of the chair and went flying backwards into a stack of the narrow boxes, knocking the pile over causing the floor to become littered in boxes and wands which had fallen out of them. Cassiopeia barely suppressed a snigger. Teddy himself smiled sheepishly from where he sat on the floor, surrounded by fallen wands and boxes.

"Oops. My bad."

"Like your mother," the voice chuckled. An elderly man was standing before, looking over at Teddy whose hair had gone a deep shade of pink. "Ten and a half inches, pine, dragon heartstring core."

Teddy was on his feet in an instant.

"And my father?" he asked eagerly. Cassiopeia couldn't blame him. If her parents had been magical she would have wanted to know everything about them – not that she didn't anyway but the magic seemed to double the interest of anything – even what wands they had used.

"Remus," the old man nodded. "Twelve inches, chestnut, phoenix feather core."

Teddy's eyes brightened to an exquisite blue and seemed to sparkle. Cassiopeia could not help but smile at the sight. She understood what it was like never to have known one's parents.

Then suddenly the old man – Ollivander – turned to her and she got her first proper look at him. He was indeed old, older than she had first thought, with white hair and the palest silver eyes she had ever seen. Like the many before, his eyes widened at the sight of her. She suppressed groan. What was it about her that shocked everyone? Very slowly, Ollivander reached out and touched her forehead with his index finger and brought it down her face, brushing her nose and lips. Cassiopeia's breathing ceased and she internally begged Ollivander to blink; to stop looking at her with those misty silver eyes.

"I never expected to see you here," his voice was barely more than a whisper as he withdrew his finger from her face.

"What do you mean?" she croaked but Ollivander didn't respond. Instead he moved away and towards Teddy.

"Mr. Lupin first," the wandmaker announced, "hold out your wand arm."

Teddy held out his right arm and Ollivander suddenly produced a measuring tape and began to measure Teddy's arm, then his head. As he did so he explained about the magical cores of the wands. Finally, once the measuring was done, Teddy began to try out the wands Ollivander brought forth. He got the right one on his third try: eleven and three quarter inches, redwood with a unicorn hair core which sent out a cloud of red smoke when he waved it. Cassiopeia applauded then Ollivander turned to her.

"Your wand arm."

Immediately she held out her right arm and the tape began to measure by itself.

"Why did you never expect to see me?" Cassiopeia asked, breaking the silence in the shop. Teddy, however, was waving his wand about, completely oblivious to Cassiopeia and Ollivander.

"You are not a child I expected to exist let alone meet," Ollivander sighed in response. Cassiopeia opened her mouth to ask why not but the old man was already holding out a wand for her to try.

"Ash, ten and a half inches and a core of unicorn hair."

Yet he snatched it away from her before she could even give it the tiniest of flicks.

Seventeen wands in and Ollivander was now rummaging through the boxes whilst Teddy watched on with wide eyes.

"Easy customer you are," he joked. The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. She glanced back at Ollivander, impatient for her wand and heard mutter something along the lines of "tricky... powerful... parents..."

Cassiopeia froze. Had she heard correct? Her parents? Yet before she could continue that line of thought Ollivander had stuck another wand in her face.

"Try this one: thirteen and a half inches, teak and a phoenix feather core."

As she took it a sudden warmth filled her, wrapping her in its embrace, and when she waved it from its tip spurted a pattern of silver sparkles which seemed to dance as they filled the room. She smiled and so did Ollivander, Teddy clapped much as she had for him.

"Use it well," the old man whispered to her as she paid him the eight galleons the wand cost.

"Right," said Teddy as they exited the shop, slipping his brand new wand into his robes. Cassiopeia didn't have any pockets so she just had to carry hers in the bag with her uniform. "Onwards, to the pet shop!"

"So, pets," Cassiopeia began as they walked through the shop, "the list says we're allowed either an owl, a cat or toad. Honestly, who in their right mind would want a toad?"

"My godfather's friend had a toad when he was at Hogwarts," Teddy defended as he admired a small tawny owl, Cassiopeia had to admit that it looked rather cute, "his name was Trevor."

"The man or the toad?" Cassiopeia asked with a smirk as she gently stroked the owl's feathers.

"The toad," Teddy clarified, "the man's name's Neville. Neville Longbottom."

"That's unfortunate," she muttered, low enough that probably only the owl could hear her. Mind you, it wasn't like she could talk: Cassiopeia Bellatrix Riddle Black? Whoever thought that one up had to be insane.

"He's the herbology professor at Hogwarts now," the metamorphmagus informed her, "and Head of Gryffindor."

"Cool."

"I like this owl," Teddy announced, stroking its mottled brown chest. Cassiopeia nodded her approval.

"So do I. You should buy him."

"And what about you? What are you getting?"

"Not a toad," she told him, "I don't know really. Are owls, cats and toads really our only option?"

"I think so," Teddy answered, "though my Uncle Ron had a rat for two years – mind you it turned it wasn't even a rat in the end but a person – and I heard that someone brought a tarantula in one year. I think it was a friend of Uncle George's."

Cassiopeia didn't even want to know about the rat who was really a human; she'd leave that explanation for a later date.

"What about..." she looked thoughtful for a moment, "something like a snake?"

"A snake?" Teddy yelped. "Why would anyone want a snake?"

"Why would anyone want a toad?" she shot back. "Besides snakes are cool."

And much better company than the other children at the orphanage. She remembered Ivok, the adder she'd kept as a pet when she was seven. Of course, when she had found out, Jen immediately told matron who'd demanded she get rid of it. Ivok had been her best friend for those few months. She never saw him again after matron threw him out.

Teddy shook his head. "I think you might be a Slytherin."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "You never know."

"I don't think the school would let you have a snake."

In the end she purchased a black kitten with large green eyes and a single white paw and tail-tip who seemed to have taken an instant liking to her. Once they had left with their new pets (matron would throw a fit for sure when she saw the kitten) Teddy had turned to Cassiopeia and asked her if she wanted to come with him to the ice cream parlour to meet his grandmother and godfather as well as his godfather's wife and eldest son. And honestly, Cassiopeia would have loved to. She was touched: no one except Miss Carey had every been this nice to her and she had a feeling they would become good friends in the future. Unfortunately, however, she had to decline.

"I need to meet Miss Carey in half an hour and I still need to buy my books and cauldron and stuff," she explained, "but thank you."

Teddy smiled at her. "No problem, Cassie. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah." Then, suddenly she realised something. "Hey, could you maybe point me in the right direction? For my books and other stuff, I mean."

"Sure," Teddy replied before calmly giving her a list of directions to find the shops she would need to visit.

"Thanks," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" he grabbed her arm and she looked back at him, her dark, red-tinted eyes questioning. "See you on the train."

She nodded and grinned. "Yeah, see you then."

With that he released her arm and the two went their separate ways.


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**Black Rose**

**Chapter 3**

**~ The Hogwarts Express ~**

The weeks following her trip to Diagon Alley seemed to pass impossibly slowly. No one except Miss Carey, or on occasion matron, would so much as speak to her. Whenever they were in their room, Jen made sure to stay as far away from Cassiopeia as was humanly possible, always sending suspicious, dirty glares at the Hogwarts textbooks the young witch had littering the floor. Not that Cassiopeia minded: Jen was much better company when she quiet, Cassiopeia could almost imagine that she wasn't there at all. And then there was the kitten, Umbra, she'd named her.

_Umbra_, she stroked the kitten's soft black fur as she sat on the bed whilst casually flipping through her potions' textbook. Umbra had quickly become her only true friend at the orphanage. She didn't judge or stare accusingly at her with those bright green eyes. No, Umbra, she could tell, was going to be a constant and unwavering companion.

"What freakish stuff are you reading about, freak?"

Cassiopeia glanced across the room to the door by which Jen had just entered. She raised a black eyebrow at her.

"Is that honestly the best you can come up with?"

Jen sniffed haughtily before walking over to her own bed and pulling back the covers.

"At the least the room will smell better," the blonde announced as she got into bed and lay down, pulling the sheets over her, "with you gone for nine months."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes, not really paying attention to a word Jen was saying as she turned the page and began reading about the properties of a bezoar. How interesting it was that something as insignificant as a stone taken from the stomach of a goat was the remedy to most poisons.

"And," Jen continued from the other side of the room, "that animal will be gone as well. Useless scrap that it is."

As if sensing that she had been insulted, Umbra's black hair stood on end and she hissed at Jen in a way which was surprisingly menacing for such a small kitten. Cassiopeia scratched her new pet behind the ears and shot a pointed glare at the blonde.

"Would you rather I kept a snake?" she asked and Jen flinched. The girl was terrified of snakes – she had screamed like a banshee when she had discovered Ivok under her bed. The dark-haired girl sneered at the memory but the expression soon turned to one of anger and sadness when she remembered that, because of that incident, she had been forced to get rid of Ivok. Without another word she slammed the textbook shut and slid beneath the covers. Umbra silently snuggled into the crook of her arm.

"I'd rather you disappear and leave everyone alone," Jen snapped from her bed.

"If you weren't bothering me 24/7 I wouldn't have to," Cassiopeia shot back, "besides, I'm glad to get away. Anything's better than waking up to your face every morning."

With a final huff from Jen, the lights went out, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

* * *

><p>It took a while for Cassiopeia to fall asleep; her eyes were wide and her body jumpy with the anticipation of starting Hogwarts the next day. Platform 9¾... That was certainly something she had never heard of before. Nonetheless, she was sure it would make sense soon – maybe it was a hidden platform, disguised somewhere between platforms nine and ten. She rolled onto her side, earning herself a harsh mew of protest from the kitten curled up in her arm, and wedged a hand between the pillow and her pale cheek. Her wild dark hair fanned out behind her, taking up the vast expanse of the white pillow. Soft snores emitted from the other side of blackened room and Cassiopeia mentally ran through the list of potions she had just been reading about, hoping to lull herself to sleep. It wouldn't do any good to arrive in Hogwarts looking like a zombie.<p>

It must have been midnight before she finally drifted off and when she did she dreamt once more of the strange woman. She was as pale and gaunt as ever, pacing wildly about a beautifully decorated room, obviously distressed, her bony fingers buried in her mess of black hair. However, this time, there was another woman with her. This new woman was much younger and healthier and the two couldn't have looked more different – one was dark and mysterious, the other fair and fragile – yet so alike at the same time. They had to be related; sisters, perhaps? The younger woman's face was a mixture of concern and horror as she attempted to sooth the dark-haired one who had fallen to her knees and was now tugging at her tangled hair until she actually succeeded in pulling a chunk out. She looked on the verge of tears and kept muttering something incoherent under her breath, rocking herself back and forth like a child whilst the pretty blonde one knelt down beside her.

* * *

><p>Cassiopeia blinked groggily as she returned to the waking world. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly through the open window. She yawned and sat up, running her hands through her long, curly hair as she did so. The dream was still vivid in her mind, which was peculiar. Normally her dreams left her only minutes after waking. This one was stubborn.<p>

Standing up she walked over to the mirror and was instantly reminded of the woman; the dark-haired, skeletally thin one. She tilted her head slowly to one side. Yes, the similarities were definitely there: the wild, dark hair; the long, swan-like neck; the thin lips and the heavily lidded eyes. The woman in the dream had been by no means beautiful, though Cassiopeia could tell that she had certainly once been, but there was a trace of it there in her haunted appearance. She had looked like someone starved and tortured, lifeless like the zombie Cassiopeia hadn't wanted to look like upon her arrival in Hogwarts. Yet the similarities were definitely there; if that woman were healthy she would look like an older version of Cassiopeia herself.

She pushed the thought from her mind. The woman was a figment of her imagination, as was her blonde sister at the lavish room and anything else she dreamt up, all the result of her overexcited mind. With a sigh she began to get dressed and pack all her books into a large trunk, her uniform she put in a bag. At last she found the cage Umbra would be travelling in and scooped the kitten off the bed, sitting it in the cage and closing the door. The ball of black fur mewed in protest and Cassiopeia smiled at it.

"I'll let you out so you can sit next to me on the train," she told it, "okay?"

With that she glanced at the cloak sitting on the bedside table. It was nine thirty and the train left at eleven. King's Cross Station was in the middle of London, nowhere near the orphanage. Hurriedly, Cassiopeia grabbed her trunk, the bag holding her uniform and Umbra's cage before rushing out the room, letting the door slam loudly shut behind her. There was no time to grab breakfast; Miss Carey was probably already waiting for her in the entrance hall. Trust Jen not to wake her up!

As Cassiopeia had guessed, the drive to the station had taken up almost the entire hour and a half she had before the train left. Upon arrival she had grabbed a trolley and Miss Carey had helped her drag her trunk up onto it. She had placed Umbra's cage on top and still carried the flimsy plastic bag holding her uniform in her hand. Miss Carey bent down and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you find the platform?" the woman asked for the hundredth time as she straightened. Cassiopeia shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she assured, "you won't know where it is anyway."

"Maybe the guard will–" Miss Carey began but Cassiopeia cut her off.

"I doubt it," then she reached over and hugged the woman tightly around the middle, "see you next year."

"See you, Cassie," Miss Carey smiled and wiped away a tear, "have fun at school."

Cassiopeia grinned back at her as she put her hands on the trolley and began to turn it around in the direction of the large signpost reading the number nine. "I will."

Miss Carey waved at her young ward's retreating back before turning around and heading for her car. Cassiopeia, meanwhile, had arrived at platform nine and was now glancing between it and platform nine, waiting for something to happen. She felt the guard's eyes on her.

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked, stepping into her line of vision. He thought her strange and more than a little lost, she could tell. She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine."

The man nodded once, clearly not believing her, but backed off nonetheless. Then Cassiopeia caught a glimpse of bright green hair.

_Teddy! _She exclaimed mentally. It had to be Teddy, she had never seen anyone else with hair like his and he had told her that his abilities – metamorph-something-or-other – were very rare. It had to be him! She moved closer but not close enough to make her presence known to him. He was talking to a man who looked to be in his late twenties wearing round glass and had the messiest head of black hair that she had ever seen, it looked like a nightmare to tame which was probably the reason the man didn't bother. There were some other people with them: an older, proud-looking woman with long mousy brown hair streaked with silver; a redheaded woman about the same age as the messy-haired man; another redhead, a man this time, and a bushy-haired woman.

_Quite the reception Teddy's got, _Cassiopeia couldn't help but think as she watched him hug each other of the adults before suddenly turning around and lining up with the great stone pillar between platform nine and ten. He glanced around to make sure that no one was watching before running straight at it and – much to Cassiopeia's shock – disappearing. He was then followed by the five adults.

So that was the secret. Very smart. With a smirk, the dark-haired girl lined up her own trolley and ran at the pillar. It worked like a portal and immediately she was standing in front of a great red steam engine. On it was the crest she had seen on her letter. Her smirk transformed into a full-blown grin. Being in front of the train suddenly made everything real. She walked forwards, pushing the trolley in front of her, heading for the luggage compartment. She found it easily and, with some effort, was able to lift her trunk into it. Wiping her hands on her dress, she carefully took Umbra's cage and headed for the carriage door.

Most of the compartments were full and it wasn't until she was near the end of the train that she found an empty one. With a sigh she flopped down onto the seat and opened the door of Umbra's cage. In an instant the kitten was clambering onto her lap, purring contentedly as she stroked her soft, fluffy head. After about five minutes she was joined by none other than Teddy Lupin.

"Hey!" he greeted enthusiastically upon seeing her, "I've been looking for you."

"I saw you at the platform," she informed him, "by the pillar. Was that your family you were with?"

Teddy nodded. "Yeah: my grandma, my godfather, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione."

"Nice," Cassiopeia commented.

"So... how's your month been?" Teddy asked just as the train began to move. Cassiopeia suddenly jerked and looked out the window.

"We're moving!" she exclaimed excitedly and Teddy shot her a weird look.

"Yeah, that's generally what trains do. Have you never been on one before?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I've never even been out of London before."

"Have you not?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "The furthest place they took us in the orphanage was to the local park and, if we were lucky, the cinema."

"That's a shame," Teddy sympathised, reaching over and petting Umbra's head. Cassiopeia's attention had now turned to the window; they had left the station and were now just exiting the dark tunnel leading into the countryside. The two eleven-year-olds sat in silence for a few long moments, watching the scenery whizz by.

Teddy, evidently uncomfortable with the lack of conversation, was the first to break it.

"You're wearing the same dress you wore at Diagon Alley," he commented randomly. Cassiopeia's head snapped towards him at the sound of his voice before glancing down at her outfit, surprised that he had noticed it. It was completely unremarkable, if not rather ugly and old-fashioned: knee-length and black, an uncomfortable, itchy fabric with long sleeves and a white, high neck collar. If anything, it was unflattering.

"Yeah," she sighed, "it's the regulation outfit at the orphanage, we all have to wear it - or at least the girls do. The boys wear something else."

"Like a uniform?" Teddy asked, cocking his head to one side. Cassiopeia nodded.

"Yeah. I prefer the Hogwarts one, though. This," she gestured to her dress, "is completely pointless. It doesn't signify anything."

It was true. She didn't understand why the orphanage even made them where these clothes apart from the reason that they couldn't afford to buy everyone their own clothes.

"Equality, maybe?" Teddy suggested. "Collectivity?"

Cassiopeia smirked. He was smart, she was glad they had become friends. Her expression grew wistful.

"More like a complete discouragement of individuality," she sighed, leaning her head against the window, "you're lucky, Teddy, you know that? You could be wearing the same clothes for years and years but still be your own person no matter what. I wish I could change my appearance."

"Well, it's not like you're ugly or anything," Teddy said, not really paying attention to her but rather craning his neck and trying to look out of the compartment, as if he were expecting someone to come down the train aisle. Nonetheless, a faint blush stained Cassiopeia's cheeks. She was so used to Jen and the other girls at the orphanage insulting her appearance - she was too pale, too skinny, her lips were too thin, her hair too wild - that receiving a compliment, especially one from a boy, had taken her by surprise. Suddenly Teddy stood up and slid open the compartment door.

Cassiopeia watched in confusion. Was he leaving?

"Where are you going?" she demanded, "Teddy?"

He turned to her, grinning.

"To the snack cart," he told her, "don't worry, Cassie, it's not like I'm leaving. You've never tried magical sweets, have you? They're to _die _for. I'll bring some, 'kay? Back in a sec."

Then he was out of the compartment, leaving a rather stunned Cassiopeia in his wake. Wizards had sweets? Well, she supposed they had to, everyone had sweets. Besides, if wizards had their own magical society completely hidden away from that of normal people - muggles, she corrected herself - then it was only to be expected that they had their own brands of magical confectionary.

Exhaling loudly, she leaned back in her seat and waited for Teddy to return, imaging what exactly these magical sweets would look like. Umbra, who had fallen asleep on her lap before they'd even left the station, now awoke with a large yawn and leapt off Cassiopeia's lap, choosing instead to now sit beside her mistress on the seat and groom herself. Cassiopeia absently flicked a stray black curl out of her eyes and turned back to the window.

Only a few minutes later, Teddy re-entered the compartment, his hands overflowing with chocolate and other treats. He sat down and spreak them out on the seat beside him, beckoning for Cassiopeia to come and sit on his side of the compartment so that he could identify all the sweets to her by name - licorice wands, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties...

In the end she selected a chocolate frog, carefully eying Teddy as she did so. She had noticed the way his eyes seemed to light up when he looked at his hoard and she quickly came to the conclusion that he was a bit of a chocoholic. As such, she didn't want to take too much in case he have some unexpected reaction even though he probably wouldn't, Teddy was too nice for that.

However, she was on the receiving end of an unexpected surprise. As soon as she opened the wrapping the chocolate frog - which was every bit as detailed as a real frog, leapt out of her hands and towards the window. Fortunately, thanks to her sharp reflexes, she managed to catch it on its first jump and keep it trapped in her clasped hands. Teddy, upon hearing her explanation, looked at her tightly clasped hands and gave a snort of laughter. He was chewing on a licorice wand.

"Oops," he said, "forgot to mention that. You can let it go now, Cassie, they're only good for one jump. Very tasty though."

Slowly, Cassiopeia lifted the chocolate frog to her mouth, half expecting it to leap out of her hand, and popped it in. It was delicious, better than anything she'd ever tasted back home, not that the food in the orphanage tasted particularly of anything; cardboard, mostly. She reached forward to take another from the pile between her and Teddy when she noticed something, a piece of card lying on her lap. It had come from the chocolate frog's wrapping. Curiously she picked it up and brought it up to her face. Her eyes widened.

"Teddy!" she exclaimed, elbowing the boy in the ribs to get his attention. "Teddy, the picture's moving!"

"Ow," Teddy muttered, putting a hand to his side. He then processed what she had said. "Oh, yeah, magical pictures move. I heard muggle ones don't. How weird is that?"

"That's not weird," Cassiopeia replied, still staring at the picture on the piece of card in her hand, she gave it a shake, "that's normal."

"Not here," Teddy reminded her, "here all the pictures move and the portraits talk."

It was at this moment that Cassiopeia decided to shed all the illusions she had formed of reality. She would need to if she expected to survive in this world. Otherwise she would probably end up having a heart attack when she ended up encountering a giant, three-headed dog or a screaming portrait of someone's demented mother. That wouldn't do.

After getting over her initial shock, she found it rather similar to a television, just a minature one on card. The picture - photo - was of a young man with bright green eyes and a shock of black hair. He wore glasses and looked slightly weary despite the smile her wore. His eyes, she immediately noticed, seemed to old for his youthful face and even though he was simply an image she could feel a kind of haunted air around him. This man had seen many horrors in his young life.

"You can collect them, chocolate frog cards," Teddy informed her through a mouthful of pasty, "who've you got?"

Her eyes flickered to the name below the picture.

"Harry Potter," she read.

"That's my godfather!" the metamorphmagus exclaimed, delightedly.

In the back of her mind, Cassiopeia remembered the man talking to Teddy at the station. She glanced back at the picture, he was younger there but there was no mistaking that it was definitely him. Did this mean that Teddy had a famous godfather? Intrigued, she read the short discription. There had been a war? Two wars? _Two recent wars? _And apparently Teddy's godfather was responsible for the downfall of a certain You-Know-Who.

_No, I do not know who, _she thought irritably.

"Teddy," she asked the boy, "who is You-Know-Who because I have no idea. Honestly, who thought up such an illogical alias?"

"Oh!" Teddy said, looking over at her, "he called himself Voldemort but his real name was Tom Riddle. People called him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because they were to afraid to say his name."

"It's a _name," _Cassiopeia pointed out, "why would people be afraid of a name?"

"Superstition I guess," Teddy replied with a shrug, "it's stupid if you ask me. Uncle Harry always told me never to be afraid of saying them the name."

"Well, I should think so. I'd be ashamed if I were too afraid to say someone's name. He was the bad guy, I take it? Don't tell me people called him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, which for the record has way too many hyphons in it, to his face?"

Teddy laughed out loud, he had been less than a month old when his godfather had killed Voldemort but he could almost imagine the look on the old snake's face - at least that's how Harry had described him - if someone did address him as You-Know-Who.

"It's stupid!" Cassiopeia continued as she grabbed a licorice wand. "Voldemort's a weird name though. Kind of spooky."

"Gives you the chills," Teddy agreed, "but Riddle's a bit strange too."

"Hey, Riddle's one-" the dark-haired girl began but cut off as Umbra, who had awoken after falling asleep again, leapt across the gap directly into her lap. Cooing, she stroked the kitten's soft black fur whilst Teddy reached over and petted her fluffy head.

_Riddle's one of my last names, _she had been about to say but supposed it was better that she'd been cut off. Her having two last names would probably only have served to confuse Teddy, Black was the name she went by; it was the one right at the end of her name. Generally she avoided the Riddle part and the Bellatrix part. Cassiopeia Bellatrix Riddle Black was too much of a mouthful. After a moment she picked another chocolate frog off the pile and turned to Teddy again, one hand still rhythmically stroking Umbra's black, the kitten purring contentedly in her lap.

"Tell me more about Hogwarts," she implored, eager to hear more about the legendary school they would be attending in just a few hours. Teddy, sitting beside her and chewing on a licorice wand, complied, happy to get off the topic of Voldemort and the war.

"Well..."


	4. Into the Snake Pit

**Black Rose**

**Chapter 4**

**~ Into the Snake Pit ~**

It was dark by the time the train finally came to halt at Hogsmeade Station, at least that's what Teddy said it was called. Cassiopeia, for one, was just glad to be out of that horrible dress and get an oppurtunity to stretch her legs. The truth was she felt slightly sick - she had never eaten so many sweets all at once in her life and, despite how good they had tasted at the time, it was taking its toll on her stomach.

Smoothing down the creases on her robes she followed Teddy out of the compartment and towards the exit. Once they were out she noticed the older pupils (second year and above) were heading in a different direction from the first years. She was watching them queue in front of a long line of small carriages that, strangely enough, had nothing pulling them when she felt a hand suddenly close around her arm. Forgetting where she was, thinking for a moment she was back at the orphanage and her tormentors were ganging up on her, she stiffens and her instinctive defensive mechanism kicked in.

_Get off! Go away!_

"Ow!" came the exclamation from behind her and instantly she spun around to see Teddy Lupin clutching his hand to his chest. "You shocked me!"

Cassiopeia's eyes widened fractionally as she registered what was going on. She wasn't back at the orphanage and Teddy was her friend not one of her tormentors.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped. "You just took me by surprise, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Teddy grunted, and pulled his hand away from his chest to inspect it. It was red and he blew on it as if trying to cool it down. Cassiopeia bit her lip in shame: she'd practically electrocuted him. The ability had been useful in getting rid of the bullies, it had happened for the first time by accident when was five and one the older boys had grabbed her from behind. Since then she'd learned to utilise it; to hurt the people who wanted to hurt her. It worked, no one dared try to gang up and grab her but she hadn't wanted to hurt Teddy. Then she heard a loud voice bellow a few metres away.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

She looked in the direction on the voice and saw a lamp being held by a huge man, at triple her height with a bushy black hair and a thick beard. She stared at him with wide eyes, Umbra's cage clutched close to her chest, and felt Teddy nudge her. Slowly she turned to him.

"Who is that?" she asked, pointing to the huge man, "is he a giant?"

"Half-giant," Teddy informed, a slight sharpness to his voice, he wasn't impressed with her reaction, "real giants are much bigger. His name's Hagrid: he's the keeper of the keys and the professor of care of magical creatures."

"Huh."

He took her arm and led her towards where the first years were all gathering around the half-giant, Hagrid. "Come on."

He pushed through the crowd until he was standing directly in front of Hagrid, pulling Cassiopeia with him. He grinned up at the monsterous but still jolly looking man. For some reason he reminded Cassiopeia of a strange, large, black-haired, dirtier version of Santa Clause. Not that she believed in that kind of thing.

"Hey, Hagrid!" he called. Hagrid looked down and grinned through his beard.

"Well, if it ain't Teddy Lupin! I was wondrin' when I was goin' ta be seein' you."

"Well, I'm here now!" Teddy replied and Hagrid gaze passed over to Cassiopeia. He didn't get a good look at her because of the angle of the light but noticed the cage in her arms.

"That kitten yours?" he asked. Cassiopeia nodded.

"Yes, sir," she replied suddenly wondering what it was she was actually going to do with Umbra and her cage, she couldn't very well take them to the sorting! "Should I take it with me?"

"Give it ta me," Hagrid said, "ye can come collect it tomorrow. Ye can't take it ta the sortin'."

Cassiopeia looked uncertain, unwilling to hand her new feline friend over to this strange, massive man. Teddy, sensing her unease, spoke.

"Hagrid's really good with animals, Cassie," he told her, "he'll look after Umbra and we can go get her tomorrow, 'kay?"

Finally Cassiopeia nodded and handed over the cage. Hagrid smiled down at her and she offered her own small smile back. "Thanks, Hagrid," she said finally.

Hagrid began leading the first years down a steep, narrow path, reminding them to watch their step. Cassiopeia followed directly behind Teddy, keeping her eyes focused on his neon hair, there was no way of getting lost following _that_. The ground was wet and slippery and incredibly dark; were they in a forest of some sort. There were some coughs and sniffles from the children behind them but Cassiopeia ignored them.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder.

They followed him round a bend only to see that the path had opened out onto the edge of a great black lake. There was a small fleet of boats sitting in the water nearby and Cassiopeia vaguely heard Hagrid bark an instruction but she was more focused on what she saw in the water's reflection. Slowly she lifted her head to a mountain on the other side of the lake; atop it sat a large castle with turrets and massive windows. It was like something out of a fairytale.

"Cassie," she heard Teddy whisper in her ear. He didn't touch her to get her attention, probably worried about recieving another shock. Snapping out of her trance, Cassiopeia turned to him. "Come on," he said, taking her arm and steering her towards the boats which were almost fully loaded, "we have to get to the boats."

Together they got into the boat nearest to them. There were already two people inside, a boy and a girl. As they got in, the girl turned to them, smiling widely and holding her hand out in greeting.

"I'm Theresa Wallace," she told Teddy as he shook her hand, then she gestured to the boy sitting beside her, "this is my cousin, Angus."

Though Cassiopeia couldn't get a good look at her due to the lack of light she could make out the girl's straight caramel coloured hair and freckled skin.

"Teddy Lupin," the metamorphmagus replied. Once she and Teddy released hands, Theresa held hers out to Cassiopeia. After a moment the dark-haired girl took it.

"Cassie Black," she introduced herself. Theresa frowned and Cassiopeia was aware of the other girl's grip tightening on her hand.

"Are you a Black?" she asked and Cassiopeia remembered what Teddy had said about her sharing a name with what had been one of the most powerful and influential wizarding families. Judging by Theresa's expression, they weren't particularly well-liked. Cassiopeia rolled her eyes, there was always something suspicious about her, wasn't there? Either it was her weirdness in the muggle world or her name and appearance (though she didn't understand what her appearance had to with anything) in the wizarding world.

"Not the Black you're thinking of," she informed. Theresa's grip immediately relaxed and she smiled warmly, as did Angus.

"Everybody in?" came Hagrid's voice from the front of the minature fleet. "Right then - FORWARD!"

The boats all began to move at the same time, and glided smoothly across the lake in perfect unison, towards the cliff and the castle upon it. It was almost entirely silent. Teddy, a small smile on his face, was the one to break it in their boat.

"Think we'll see the giant squid?" he whispered. Theresa looked longingly over the lake.

"Probably not. I've always wanted to see it though."

"Wait," Cassiopeia injected, "there's a giant squid. In the _lake."_

"Yep," it was the first time Angus spoke, "apparently it's really friendly though."

Cassiopeia decided to say no more, and simply take whatever new revelations were thrown at her. She should've come to expect it anyway: living chocolate, moving pictures, of course it was possible that an animal that typically lived in the deepest parts of the ocean could live in a fresh water lake. It was magic, after all. The boat ride was soon over - and they hadn't gotten a glimpse of the giant squid - and reached a kind of underground harbour where they all clambered out of the boats. They then followed the light of Hagrid's lamp until the came out of the passageway onto wet, green grass. Looking up, Cassiopeia noticed that they were standing right in the shadow of the castle. She pointed this out to three classmates and together they all stared up in awe at the massive stone building. Much like she had in Ollivander's shop she could feel the magic tingling in the air about her, surrounding the castle. This place, she knew, was a safehouse, a sanctuary.

Hagrid proceeded to lead the first years up a flight of stone steps where, at the top, the pupils crowded around a huge oak door. There Cassiopeia and Theresa - Tess, she insisted on being called - found themselves squeezed between Teddy, Angus, two small blond boys and one very large, thickset, honestly rather dopey-looking one. Barely able to breathe, Cassiopeia resisted the urge to shock all of them; personal space was much appreciated though, admittedly, there wasn't much room for personal space right now.

Hagrid knocked three times on the door and Teddy cringed at the sound. Cassiopeia shot him a confused glance. Immediately the door swung open, revealing a man whose appearance contrasted so much to that of Hagrid's that Cassiopeia had to stifle the urge to laugh. If Hagrid was part giant then this man was part dwarf. He was shorter than Cassiopeia and most of the first years, standing at below four feet and had brown hair and, when he spoke, a funny, high-pitched voice.

"The firs' years, Professor Flitwick," Hagrid gestured to the group. So this was the deputy headmaster. Interesting.

"Yes, thank you, Hagrid," Flitwick replied, pulling the door wide open, revealing the entrance hall. It was massive, larger than the dining hall back at the orphanage and far more lavish. Flitwick led them flagged stone floor, towards a massive doorway from which Cassiopeia could make out the drone of hundreds of voices. The rest of the school. She knew those carriages were faster than the boats. However, instead of leading them into what was most likely the dining (or in this case banquet was more appropriate) hall he led them into a small empty chamber. Once again, Cassiopeia was squeezed between her peers as they all moved closer together. She scowled irritably.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Teddy whispered in her ear, his tone amused, "aren't you excited for the sorting."

"I would be if I could breathe," she hissed back, elbowing the thickset boy in the ribs. He didn't even seem to notice. Teddy just laughed. At last Flitwick turned to them and spoke.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Moments later Flitwick disappeared before returning shortly after and led the students into the great hall. In between that time however, the first years got their first glimpse of the Hogwarts ghosts. Now this, at least, was something that Cassiopeia had suspected she might see, so she wasn't all that surprised though their initially appearance did cause her to jump. There were four ghosts she noticed, one for each house Teddy told her: Sir Nicholas for Gryffindor, The Fat Friar for Hufflepuff, the Grey Lady for Ravenclaw and the Bloody Baron for Slytherin. They seemed to be arguing about someone called Peeves whom Teddy and Tess informed her was the school's poltergeist who liked playing pranks on people. They also advised her that Peeves was someone she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Once in the great hall, Cassiopeia was in awe. The entrance hall had been nothing compared to this. She was particularly fascinated by the ceiling, which was currently showing the night sky. It was an illusion, she knew, but it was still beautiful. There were four long tables, one for each house, and at the very head of the hall there was a long table facing the others. The staff table. In the middle of the table, on an elaborate chair which, personally, Cassiopeia thought looked more like a throne, at least compared to the others, was a stern-looking woman with black hair speckled with grey tied back in a tight bun wearing dark green robes.

_That must be the headmistress, _Cassiopeia thought, _Minerva McGonagall._

Before the head table, however, was a stool and upon sat a raggedy black hat, the kind that witches in muggle stories wore. The story hat. Teddy nudged her excitedly and she grinned at him as they were led forward towards it. Then a thought struck her. Would she and Teddy be sorted into the same house? He was her only friend (not including animals) and she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they were sorted into different houses, he had mentioned the house rivalries to her. Would they remain friends?

At last they stopped in front of the stool and, much to Cassiopeia's surprise, through a rip near the brim which opened like a mouth, the hat began to sing. It sung about the four houses but Cassiopeia wasn't really paying attention. She was more focused on the beauty of the great hall, anxious about what house she would be sorted nto and how it would affect her friendship with Teddy and a small part of her mind was also worried about Umbra, who was with Hagrid until tomorrow.

When the song was over the whole house burst into applause, Cassiopeia joining in with the claps half-way through. Then Professor Flitwick stepped foward, holding a piece of parchment. From it he began to read off a list of names, calling each student to sit on the stool so Flitwick could stand on a box and place the hat on their head so it could decide their house.

"Arbeth, Walton."

A red-skinned, dark-haired boy stepped forward to get the hat placed on his head. It bellowed "RAVENCLAW!" and one of the tables cheered and the boy rushed over to sit down.

"Ashley, Meredith."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Then: "Black, Cassiopeia."

It was probably just her inward fretting but the hall seemed to go quiet as she stepped out of the crowd towards the stool. For some reason, it was the teacher's intense stares that unnerved her the most. Slowly she turned around and sat down on the stool. Despite her anxiety, she kept her head held high and her back straight. She looked proud and queenly and, though everyone but the teachers who had seen it before did not know it, every inch a Black.

She could feel the shift in the air as the hat came closer to her head, its brim just brushing the top of her curly dark hair when...

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was cheering and applause from the table to the far right of the hall. And, as Flitwick removed the hat from her head, she stood up and walked calmly towards the cheering table. Slytherin - the sly, cunning ones, Teddy had said, the house of snakes, how fitting. She sat down beside an older brown-haired boy with a rather pug-like face and began to pick at the food, not paying much attention to her new housemates though they all stared eagerly at her. The food was delicious, though she had already consumed all those sweets on the train.

The sorting seemed to fly past from that point. Her head shot up when the name "Lupin, Theodore" was called and she sighed in disappointment when the sorting hat declared him a Gryffindor. Admittedly, she knew from the start that Teddy was no Slytherin, he was far too genuine for that but she couldn't help but hope. Near the end of the sorting "Wallace, Angus" was named a Hufflepuff and "Wallace, Theresa" a Gryffindor. There were plenty of new Slytherins as well, however, and she supposed that she may as well get to know them. After all, they would be her family for the next seven years.

* * *

><p>Teddy's shoulders had slumped when Cassie was declared a Slytherin though he couldn't help but laugh inwardly at her name. No wonder she called herself Cassie. Oh, this was something to tease her about! If they remained friends after this, of course. Slytherins weren't supposed to be the friendliest bunch. He hoped they could still be friends: he liked Cassie, he truly did, despite her snappiness and rather nasty controlled accidental magic. His hand still stung a little.<p>

Teddy smiled as the hat named him a Gryffindor, a Gryffindor like his dad and godfather. He would have to send Harry and his grandmother an owl about how the sorting went. Eagerly he headed towards the Gryffindor table where he was warmly welcomed into their ranks. Across the hall he saw Cassie picking at her food. She wasn't talking to her peers though all of them were glancing expectantly at her, as if expecting her to speak. Teddy felt sorry for her, he wouldn't like to be under all that scrutiny either. He half wondered how his godfather had felt at his sorting, he must have had the attention of the entire great hall!

Another name was called, followed by the hat's cry of "GRYFFINDOR!" and Teddy was suddenly aware of a someone sitting directly opposite him, blocking his view of Cassie. He glanced up to see that it was Tess.

"Tess!" he exclaimed happily, "you're a Gryffindor too?"

"Yep," the girl agreed, pushing her long chestnut hair behind her ear and reaching for the spare ribs. "Gus is in Hufflepuff."

Teddy nodded, she and her cousin seemed close, they had probably wanted to be in the same house. "Cassie's is Slytherin," he informed her. She nodded.

"I know," she glanced over her shoulder at the girl in question before turning back to Teddy, a small, sarcastic smile on her face, "not a Black, huh?"

Teddy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She said she wasn't one of 'those' Blacks but now its proven, isn't it? She lied."

Teddy shook his head. "She's not one of 'those' Blacks, as you put it."

"What makes you think that?"

"The name's died out," he pointed out, "it died out before she was born."

"But look at her," Tess insisted, shifting slightly saw that Cassiopeia was back in Teddy's line of sight. Tess glanced over her shoulder. "Aren't those described as the classic Black good looks?"

"Could be a coincidence," Teddy shrugged.

"What about her name," Tess pushed.

"What about it?" Teddy asked, becoming uncomfortable with Tess' questioning. Why did she care so much, anyway.

"Cassiopeia," the brunette quoted Professor Flitwick.

"It's unusual?" Teddy offered, not even trying to cooperate with Tess who groaned.

"It's a constellation," she snapped at him. Angus, he remembered her telling him, was an astromony genius, she probably knew a lot of the stars by name. "The one next to Andromeda, to be precise."

Teddy frowned at the mention of that, realising that Tess actually had a valid point. Cassiopeia was a constellion which the House of Black would probably use. Still, he shook his head, it was of no consequence. Cassie didn't know her family and even if she was a Black it didn't matter, it wasn't like she was bad - not like Bellatrix Lestrange had been.

"Why do you care?" he snapped finally, taking Tess by surprise.

"I- I-" she looked like she was about to say something but stopped.

"Besides," he added angrily, "Cassie's an orphan. She never knew her family."

Tess looked ashamed and she hung her head, hiding behind her hair, her cheeks a dark shade of crimson.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "it's just... my family's never really had a good relationship with the Blacks, not with any of them, even Sirius Black who was in Gryffindor."

Teddy nodded his head. Family prejudices die hard, he remembered his godfather telling him about how Snape's hatred of James Potter had passed onto Harry. But then Tess spoke again, her voice barely over a whisper.

"Bellatrix Lestrange killed my parents during the second war. I was raised with Angus by my aunt and uncle. I know shouldn't pass it on to Cassie, I'm sorry I interrogated you."

Teddy reached out and patted her arm.

"It's okay, Tess," he told her. She smiled at him and the two began to eat what they had shovelled onto their plates though, every once or so often, Teddy's eyes would flick back to where Cassie sat at the Slytherin table, finally conversing with one of her housemates.


	5. Of Breakfast and Blacks

**Black Rose**

**Chapter 5**

**~ Of Breakfast and Blacks ~**

The feast was soon over and the Slytherin prefects were leading the first years, and the rest of the house for that matter, down to the dormitories and common room in the castle dungeons. As they headed down the stairs Cassiopeia couldn't help but muse on the strangeness of having pupils sleep in the dungeons of the school.

Slytherin obviously wasn't the favoured house, she finally concluded, letting out a short laugh which earned her a few odd looks from her peers. She ignored them and instead pushed forward to the front of the line. The prefects had come to a halt in front of a thick, stone wall.

_A secret entrance, _she thought as a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. Very clever. All the entrances to the common rooms were probably hidden: to keep the other houses out.

"_Argentum serpens," _one of the older, female prefect, a tall, dark-haired girl with a round, pale face, said to the wall. Immediately it swung open, revealing a large, antique looking, stone-walled and floored room.

_So that was the password, _Cassiopeia thought as the two prefects stepped inside followed by the rest of the house, all pushing past the curly-haired first year, _argentums serpens. Sounds Latin._

Finally, once everyone else was inside, Cassiopeia at last stepped over the threshold and into the Slytherin common room. The disguised wall swung shut behind her. The majority of the pupils all simply went off to do their own thing, whether it was going off to the dorms or just lounging about in the common room. The first years gathered in a semi-circle around the two remaining prefects, the eldest two, who were both most likely in their seventh year. Cassiopeia stood a little ways behind the group, listening intently to what the prefects were saying.

Once they had been informed of the basic school rules and pointed in the direction of the dormitories, the group dispersed. Some decided to hang about in the common room, chatting with their new (or old) friends and with some of the older students who were most likely their siblings. Most of them, though, headed straight for the dorms, Cassiopeia among them.

When she opened the door she discovered that the dorm wasn't particularly big; there were only four beds, each one four poster with emerald green drapes and covers. Still, they were bigger than the rooms in the orphanage and of much better quality as well. Individual trunks were already lying at the foot of each bed and Cassiopeia recognised her own by the one furthest from the door. As she stepped inside she noticed that her three dorm-mates had already arrived. At the sound of the door closing, they all turned to look at her.

"Hello," she greeted curtly, heading straight for the bed with her trunk, feeling their eyes boring into her as she crossed the room. It made her feel slightly uncomfortable, being the centre of attention like this. Once she reached her destination she turned around to face them, scrutinizing each one of them and taking them in individually.

There were two girls sitting on the bed nearest the door. One had lank, dark brown, almost black hair and drooping brown eyes and a wide, sallow-skinned face which held a permanent dubious expression. Her friend was a skinny twig of a thing, long-limbed very pale with waist-length light blonde hair and the largest pair of blue eyes Cassiopeia had ever seen. Eventually her eyes shifted to the final occupant of the room, who was standing near the trunk by the foot of the bed closest to Cassiopeia's. It was her that really caught Cassie's attention.

She was very petite, even for an eleven-year-old, with lightly freckled skin and a head full of shoulder-length, neatly kept mousy-coloured ringlets. Her eyes were a shade somewhere between blue and green and she eyed Cassiopeia with certain intensity that the other two girls did not seem to have, as if she was analysing the young Slytherin much like Cassiopeia was analysing her. Of all her dorm-mates, and probably all of the Slytherin first years too, this was the one Cassiopeia found the most interesting and could be bothered to waste her time with.

At last the brunette spoke.

"Hey, I'm Adrianna Pharl," she introduced, "this is Eliza Bole," she gestured to the droopy-eyed girl, "and Zibia Burke."

Cassiopeia inclined her head towards them in greeting but said no more, waiting for one of them to speak, despite the fact that Adrianna was obviously waiting for her to say something. Surprisingly enough it was, Zibia, the stick-like blonde who spoke first.

"You're the Black," she said simply, her voice high and reedy. Eliza's dubious expression seemed to clear for a moment as her head shot up and Cassiopeia resisted the urge to bang her head against the stone wall.

"I'm not one of _those _Blacks," she practically hissed in irritation. Why did everyone jump to that conclusion? Did they not realise that Black was, in fact, a very common name in the muggle world?

Eliza squinted at her. "What other Blacks are there?"

"Muggle Blacks, idiot," Zibia sneered then her entire body stiffened and her head shot up in Cassiopeia's direction, "you're not a mudblood, are you?"

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow. "What's a mudblood?"

Eliza began laughing and the curly-haired girl scowled. "Did-did you hear that?" she laughed, nudging Zibia's bony arm, "she asked what-what a mudblood was!"

Zibia stood up and pushed the larger girl away, obviously unimpressed with her snorting laughter. Adrianna rolled her eyes at them and turned back to her new dorm-mate.

"Just ignore them," she told her.

"Trust me, I will," Cassiopeia replied as her suspicion that Adrianna was the only one in the dorm worth her time was confirmed.

"Mudblood is just another – ruder – term for muggleborn, by the way," the brunette explained. Cassiopeia nodded as Adrianna turned back to her trunk and made to open her own when the other girl suddenly turned and addressed her again, "what was your first name again? I didn't quite catch it during the sorting. It was your last name I think everyone was focusing on."

"Cassiopeia," she replied simply, "but most people get confused so just Cassie."

"'Kay," the girl smiled, a strange gleam entering her eyes that made Cassiopeia slightly wary, "you can call me Addi then, if we're going by abbrieviations."

Cassiopeia nodded slowly and returned her attention to her trunk, the wheels in her mind turning as she considered this girl, Adrianna Pharl. She took out her pyjamas and tossed them on the bed before turning back to Adrianna, who now had her black robe and jumper off and was in the process of undoing her tie when Cassiopeia asked: "what's so special about the Blacks anyway that everyone knows about them? I mean, I know they were rich and powerful and all, but is that it?"

It was only once she had completely removed her tie that Adrianna began to reply.

"The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?" she laughed, "just the fact that that they were big fans of dark magic and pure-blood supremacy. Not to mention that practically everyone in the wizarding world – excluding muggleborns, of course – is somehow related to them. They're probably the most well-known wizarding family in Britain – even if the name has died out."

Adrianna then continued to undress whilst Cassiopeia stood still for a moment, contemplating the other girl's words before shrugging out of her own robe and flinging it onto the bed. She then removed her jumper and undid her tie and was starting on the top few buttons of her white blouse when Adrianna spoke again.

"Are you muggleborn then?" she asked. Cassiopeia continued to undress.

"Yes," she replied, moving onto the next button, "as far as I'm aware."

"You don't know?"

"Why is everyone so interested?" she snapped finally, shooting a glare at Adrianna through narrowed, red-tinted eyes. She hastily slipped into her pyjama top and released her hair from its plait so that it fell around her shoulders and down her back in wild black curls.

"Those who aren't pureblood don't usually get sorted into Slytherin," the brunette informed calmly, "then again, I highly doubt there are any proper purebloods left in the world; I guess all that's necessary now is to be part of a family that carries a pureblood name."

Cassiopeia just shrugged. There seemed to be an awful lot of importance placed on one's blood status in this world. The way Eliza and Zibia (who were now already lying in bed: Zibia curled up with a book and occasionally glaring at the sleeping Eliza. Cassiopeia could practically hear the thin, blonde girl's internal cursing and demands for Eliza to be quiet. In fact, if had bothered to concentrate on it, she would have realised that she in fact _could _hear these things) had spoken of it, with such distain, reminded the dark-haired girl of the extreme racism of the 1800/1900s. It was all rather overrated in her opinion but she made a mental note to look into blood status and work out exactly what weight it held in society.

"People were interested before I was sorted," she said, irritated with Adrianna's response whilst remembering Teddy and Tess' questions and the odd look Madam Malkin had given her.

"Look, I don't know," Adrianna said at last as she scrambled into bed, "I suppose you... look like a Black or something."

Cassiopeia arched a disbelieving eyebrow, not content with Adrianna's vague response but decided not to pursue the subject. Instead she finished getting dressed and dug into her trunk, finding one of her textbooks (this one was on transfiguration) and got into bed after closing the trunk's lid. Adrianna glanced over at her

"You're reading one of the school textbooks?" she asked, her tone somewhere between disbelieving and mocking. Cassiopeia shot her a quick but powerful glare, suddenly reminded of Jen's laughter and taunting when she discovered her room-mate enjoyed reading her school textbooks. She turned back to the book, missing the familiar weight of Umbra in her lap.

Umbra. Teddy had said they could collect her from that half-giant – Hagrid – tomorrow. How were they supposed to do that if they were in different – rival – houses? Teddy was in Gryffindor and she was in Slytherin. She supposed she could always talk to him at breakfast, but he sat across the hall from her and she didn't think her new housemates would approve if she went over to the Gryffindor table on the first day of school. She steeled herself, it didn't matter what her housemates thought and it didn't matter what the Gryffindors thought and even if Teddy didn't want to speak to her it didn't matter. She would drag him out of the great hall by his ear if she had to.

* * *

><p>The next morning it was easy to see that the school year had properly begun. The Ravenclaw table was mostly filled with students pouring of their books, the Hufflepuff table were quite contently chatting to each other and there was a lot of noise coming from where the Gryffindors sat. The teachers were going around handing sheets of paper, most likely timetables, to each student.<p>

_So this is usual life in Hogwarts, _Cassiopeia thought as she entered the great hall with Adrianna. The two had spoken very little that morning, neither of them being people of many words, though unfortunately that meant that they had to spend their morning listening to Eliza and Zibia bickering. Despite Cassiopeia's earlier impression it seemed that, though the two appeared to be friends, they didn't really like each other at all and argued whenever they could.

All four finally sat down at the end of the Slytherin table, the spot closest to the door, near a group of sixth year boys who were discussing something in hushed tones. Across from Cassiopeia and Adrianna, Eliza and Zibia continued to bicker. After ten minutes Cassiopeia could take it anymore.

"Shut up!" she hissed, glaring menacingly at the two girls, intimidating them into instant silence, "are you trying to give me the migraine of the century? I've just woken up and have had to listen to you two go at it all morning!"

Adrianna looked at her out of the corner of her eye, a smile was playing on her lips but in those blue-green orbs there was an almost wary expression.

"Nice one, Cassie," she congratulated finally, clapping her on the arm, "didn't know you had it in you."

Eliza and Zibia both huffed and mumbled something but Cassiopeia wasn't paying attention to them, instead she was scanning the Gryffindor table for a familiar head of brightly coloured hair. Eventually her eyes settled on a group of three boys and a girl she recognised as Tess Wallace.

"Cassie?" Eliza asked, "What is it?"

Resisting the urge to snap at the dull, drab girl, Cassiopeia took a bite of syrupy waffle, internally commenting how much better it tasted than the plain brown rolls and butter back in the orphanage.

"Nothing," she replied, continuing to eat the waffle whilst piling more food onto her plate. She had hardly eaten anything at the feast last night and never before had she had such a selection for breakfast; nonetheless she kept one eye trained on the Gryffindor table.

"You're going to be sick if you eat all that," Zibia pointed out, glancing down at Cassiopeia's fate, "either that or get really, really fat."

"That'd be your boggart, wouldn't it, Zibi," Adrianna snapped in Cassiopeia's defence, "you being fat."

Having read about what a boggart was, and now eying Zibia's skeletal frame, Cassiopeia couldn't help but agree with the brunette. Mind you, Zibia was probably right too, she realise, glancing down at her plate. She'd never eaten this much in an entire day, let alone in under an hour. There was a large possibility that she would end up being sick. As Zibia and Eliza began to argue once again, Eliza taking advantage of Adrianna's earlier jibe, she decided that now was an excellent time to speak to Teddy. She stood up and Adrianna grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?" the brunette asked.

"I have something to take care of," Cassiopeia replied smoothly, shaking off the other girl's grip. "Get my timetable if its dropped off, will you?" she asked before glancing pointedly at the two bickering girls, the beginnings of a smirk appearing on her pale face, "and good luck with them."

Then she was headed off in a bee-line for the Gryffindor table. Smirking, she flicked her hair (which was for once not tied back, she relished the freedom of having it loose and billowing down her back) over her shoulder and made sure to approach Teddy from behind.

She noticed him stiffen slightly at the sound of her nearing footsteps (that boy had excellent hearing to be able to pick up that one sound amongst the din of the great hall) and stifled a laugh at how one of the boys sitting opposite him completely froze before leaning over the table and whispering in an absurdly loud voice: "Teddy, don't panic but there's a Slytherin right behind you."

"And there's a Gryffindor right in front of me," she drawled in response, "I can already feel my brain melting and pouring out my ears."

Recognising her voice, Teddy immediately spun round from his spot on the bench, almost kicking a giggling fourth year girl as he swung his feet round. His companion – the one that had whispered – seemed startled for a moment before scowling at here, clearly unappreciative of what she had personally thought was a rather witty remark.

It seemed insulting the other houses was no way to make friends.

Teddy was grinning at her, a rather devious expression on his face.

"Cassiopeia," he greeted, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Theodore," she responded in the same mocking tone.

"How are things in the snake pit?" he asked in a mock-polite tone though the sparkle in his eyes made it obvious that he did not mean offense, "haven't been bitten by a venomous reptile yet, have you?"

"No. How are you faring in the lions' den?" she shot back, "you haven't had your head bitten off then, I see."

He laughed and Cassiopeia grinned. She couldn't help but find it strange how she closed herself off from her housemates – except perhaps Adrianna but she would not fool herself into believe that she completely trusted the girl, Slytherins, after all, have never been painted as honest – yet somehow Teddy seemed to have wormed his way into her stone heart. No one except Miss Carey had ever managed that.

What Cassiopeia found herself wanting most at the moment was for their friendship to remain intact, despite their house differences. She wasn't yet ready to stand on her own two feet and face the wizarding world. Everything was still so knew to her: she felt weak and inexperienced and there was nothing she hated more than that.

"Do you have your timetable?" she asked.

"Yep," the metamorphmagus replied, holding up a folded sheet of yellow parchment. He slipped it back into the pocket of his robes before standing up and rubbing his hands together, looking slightly ashamed of the question he was about to ask next: "uh, Cassie, why are you here? I mean, I know we're friends and all but..."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Teddy," she sighed, "do you have the memory span of a goldfish or something? We have a kitten to collect before class starts."

A look of realisation dawned on the boy's face and turned back to his friends.

"Sorry, guys," he apologised, "I'll be right back; I just need to take care of something."

With that he grabbed Cassiopeia's hand and led her out of the great hall, leaving three stunned Gryffindors in their wake. At last one of the boys, the one Cassiopeia hadn't snapped at, spoke.

"Wait a second, did Teddy just leave the great hall – not to mention his _breakfast – _to collect a kitten, _holding hands _with a _Slytherin?"_


	6. Slytherin and Gryffindor

**Black Rose**

**Chapter 6**

**~ Slytherin and Gryffindor ~**

The trip to collect Umbra was short: Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the school grounds, between the castle and the lake. Teddy seemed to know the exact route and location, something that, Cassiopeia wasn't going to lying, unnerved her. This was Teddy's first time at Hogwarts, he'd never set foot in the castle before, that's what he'd told her, so why did he know his way around like it was his second home?

There had to be a reason. It was impossible that Teddy should know his way around such a massive complex when he'd never been inside it before. But it wasn't simply the fact that he knew his way around (he might have just asked a teacher or an older pupil for directions), it was the fact that he had yet another advantage over her in the magical world. He knew so much compared to her, he had such a headstart, and she hated this - this feeling of inferiority.

She scowled. Yes, there was always someone who was better than her in someway; prettier, wiser, less wilder, less dangerous, more sensible, more mature, more important, more experienced, more normal, more talented, more _everything. _And now here she was, in a world where magic was real, finally feeling like she belonged, and she was still at the bottom of the ladder. Teddy had everything: he lived a life where being magic was normal, not freaky, amongst people who loved and appreciated him for what he was, already he knew _loads _about magic and the wizarding community. Hell, he could even make his _hair _change colour.

Cassiopeia shook her head as she recognised the emotions welling up within her - jealousy, anger, bitterness - and pushed them to the back of her mind. She was being petty, making her life out as dreadful when it could have been much, much worse. And it wasn't Teddy's fault that he had been brought up the way he had been; they were both at Hogwarts now and who cared if Teddy knew his way around? Soon she would too.

"Cass, are you okay?"

Cassiopeia glanced over at Teddy and offered him a small smile, clearing her mind of all negative emotions.

"I'm fine," she told him before looking down at Umbra who was nestled comfortably in the crook of her arm, "just thinking."

" 'Bout what?" Teddy asked as he bounded towards the castle.

"Hagrid's great big dog," she made up, not wanting to tell him about the direction her thoughts had been heading in. She had only caught a glimpse of the dog - Fang, was that what Hagrid had called it? - it was a massive thing; all black with enormous paws and an ugly wrinkled face, white drool dripping from its drooping lips onto the wooden floor. It hadn't moved much though, just lain there. Cassiopeia guessed that it was old, too old to be chasing michevious kittens around Hogwarts.

"Fang," Teddy confirmed the name. "Why think about him? Are you afraid of dogs?" he taunted with a good-natured grin. She rolled her eyes but his question brought back an unbidden and unwelcome memory.

Josephine Blake and Tamsin Wright had been afraid of dogs. Rightfully so. They hadn't been afraid of her, though. That had been a big mistake... especially with Mr. Thompson's rottweiler so near by...

She jerked suddenly, nearly dropping Umbra in the process, that wasn't a memory she wanted to relive.

"Cassie?" Teddy had grabbed her arm and her gaze snapped to his face. They were already back inside the school, standing in the middle of a corridor, she had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed.

"Yes?"

He squinted at her, "You sure you're all right? You just... stopped all of a sudden."

"It's nothing. Just a memory."

"Ah ha!" Teddy exclaimed, "you are afraid of dogs! I knew it!"

As much as it pained her to admit to a fear of anything, especiallly if it wasn't actually true, she had no explanation to offer the young metamorphmagus without going into any detail (something she wanted to avoid at all costs, particularly when it came to this memory) and so chose to appease him and his theory.

"Fine, you got me," she said, pushing a stray lock of dark hair out of her eyes, eyes which now held a distinctly haunted look. This memory would not leave her for the rest of the day.

"Yo, Black!"

Both Cassiopeia and Teddy turned at the call. It had come from down the corridor, near the entrance to the great hall. More specifically it had come from the lips of Zibia Burke who was now pointing in their direction. Flanking her were none other than the rest of Cassie's roommates, Eliza Bole and Adrianna Pharl. In Adrianna's hand was a slip of folded yellow parchment.

With a sigh, Cassiopeia walked towards them, Teddy following close behind her.

"There you are," Zibia said, placing her pale, bony hands on her hips, "where did you disappear to, any way? We have class in ten minutes."

"I had something to pick up," she informed, moving her arm and revealing Umbra to the group. Zibia's scowl disappeared in an instant as she started fawning over the kitten, much to Umbra's delight. Cassiopeia willingly passed her over into the blonde girl's arms, trying to resist rolling her eyes. Zibia, it seemed, had an obvious affinity for animals - perhaps she could be introduced to Hagrid.

Adrianna, however, was much more down-to-business.

"Here," the petite brunette said as she thrust the piece of parchment in Cassiopeia's direction. She took it, already aware that it was the timetable she had instructed Adrianna to collect.

"Thanks."

Eliza simply watched on, observing the scene through glazed eyes. Offering her nothing more than a passing glance, Cassiopeia wondered if the other girl was actually awake or had somehow mastered the ability of sleepwalking through life with her eyes open. An awkward silence hung over the group for a few moments before Adrianna finally spoke.

"I'm Adrianna," she was adressing Teddy, holding out her hand whilst glancing him up and down, her eyes momentarily resting on the crest on his black robe that marked him as a Gryffindor before flicking back up to his face.

He too eyed her Slytherin crest before glancing at Cassiopeia, then back at Adrianna.

"I'm Teddy," he said finally.

"Lupin?" Adrianna inquired, causing Teddy cheeks to turn a faint pink. "As in Harry Potter's godson."

"Yeah," Teddy muttered, running a hand through his now purple hair, looking thoroughly embarrassed. Cassiopeia had learned early on that he didn't enjoy the attention his godfather's fame brought to him, though looking back at Adrianna, she couldn't quite tell whether or not the girl was impressed.

Zibia had finally managed to advert her attention away from Umbra and was about to comment when another group turned the corner. Cassiopeia instantly recognised them as the boys Teddy had been with at breakfast.

"Ted!" one boy exclaimed.

"Don't tell me you ditched us for a bunch of Slytherin's," the other one said, his eyes flickering warily between the four dorm-mates, "and girls at that."

"Hey!" Zibia yelped, letting go of Umbra, who landed cleanly on all fours, and going for her wand. The two boys reacted immediately, pulling their own wands from their robes. Then Eliza, revealing that she was actually awake, also brandished hers.

Cassiopeia's lips twitched upwards involuntarily: this would be the first time any of them actually used their wands. Did they even know any proper spells or were they just trying to intimidate each other? And with Teddy and Adrianna playing peacekeepers the whole situation was really rather amusing to watch.

"Guys, come on, leave it."

"She drew her wand first!"

"Bet she can't even use it - I'm surprised she can even hold it up with those arms."

"You -!"

"Zibia, are you always this defensive? He was just joking."

"But, Addi, did you hear -?"

"I'm not deaf, Burke, now put down your bloody wand!"

"Only if they do first!"

"Fat chance of that!"

"Yeah, you'll just hex us once our backs are turned, Slytherin -"

As entertaining as it was, however, Cassiopeia realised that it had to be sorted out before they were all late for class. Checking her timetable she noticed that all of them would, in fact, be in the same class - potions.

"We have class in two minutes."

It was strange how that one sentence seemed to cause everything to suddenly pause. Instantly everyone's hands flew into their robes, re-emerging with timetables that they all simultaniously checked. The last thing any first year wanted was to be late to their first class.

"Potions with the Slytherins."

"Potions with the Gryffindors."

The two groups shared one more glare before the two Gryffindors marched off. One of the boys, with sandy blond hair and pale green eyes, called to Teddy over his shoulder. Subsequently Teddy shot an apologetic look at the four Slytherins, though mostly it was aimed at Cassiopeia, before he raced after his friends.

Beside Cassie, Adrianna huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Gryffindors."

* * *

><p>Teddy Lupin was not particularly impressed with his new friends. He knew all about the millenia-old hostilities between Gryffindor and Slytherin, of course, Uncle Ron, for example, made no secret of his dislike for the house of snakes. That didn't mean he wanted to get into a fight with them.<p>

To be truthful, he was embarrassed by his friends' behaviour. They were the ones that had started the fight, after all, with their stupid comments, though the twig of a blonde _did _overreact.

There wasn't anything he could do about it now though - he had already given the two boys a thorough tongue-lashing that had surprised even himself and both had seemed genuinely ashamed afterwards. All he could hope was that he had not somehow permanently damaged his friendship with Cassie.

The three of them walked into the potions classroom and Teddy found himself already being put off. The smell coming from a cauldron in the far left corner of the room was replusive and the jars filled with Merlin-knows-what that were dotted all about the place certainly didn't cause the young metamorphmagus to relax. Teddy had a feeling this would not be his favourite subject.

Behind him Myles Flannigan (the blond) and Evan Darrenth seemed rather fascinated and insisted on poking each jar they passed. Teddy sighed at their antics and instead went to sit beside Tess Wallace who greeted him with a wide smile, flashing perfectly straight, white teeth. He grinned back at her.

"I heard you ran off with Black at breakfast," she stated, playing with the feather of her quill.

"We went to pick up her cat from Hagrid," Teddy replied quickly, hoping that she wouldn't comment like Myles and Evan. As a matter of fact, she didn't respond at all, prompting Teddy to wonder if she was still hung up on the whole Black issue. He remembered how Tess had continued their original conversation on the way to Gryffindor Tower.

It had become apparent that Tess was one to hold grudges: Bellatrix Lestrange killed her parents, it was completely natural for Tess to hate her. Teddy hated her too, she had killed his mother, haunted his grandmother and had done so many terrible things to the people he cared about. Yet he couldn't understand what Tess had against Cassie. Yes, her surname was Black, yes, she had been sorted into Slytherin but that didn't make her like that horrible hag.

Besides, Cassie was muggleborn, she had said so herself.

_No, _a tiny voice in the back of his subconscience, so tiny that he wasn't even aware it was speaking, whispered, _she said she was an orphan. She has no idea who she is._

But he didn't hear it.

At that moment a group of four familiar Slytherin girls walked into the room: a stocky brunette with limp hair and drooping eyes; a disturbingly slender, pale, blonde; a petite figurine of a girl with short mousy curls and dazzlings turquoise eyes; and finally a striking, dark-eyed girl, tall for her age, with a distinctive head of wild black curls.

They were the last in and took the two remaining desks, the one in the front row nearest the door and the one directly behind it. Cassiopeia and Adrianna took the front with Zibia and Eliza behind them.

Only seconds later did the professor enter. He was a large, very elderly man with wrinkled skin and nought but a few wisps of silver hair upon his head. Beneath his black Hogwarts robes he wore a lavish green and purple pinstripe suit. Teddy knew right away who this man was: Horace Slughorn. Truth be told, he was really quite surprised the man hadn't retired yet. According to his godfather, Slughorn had even taught Voldemort back in the 1930-40s. Now that was old. He voiced these thoughts to Tess, beside him, and she giggled in response, agreeing with him.

The lesson passed fairly quickly and was interesting enough, Slughorn had been looking around the class with bright eyes, no doubt looking for future members for his esteemed "slug club" that Teddy had heard so much about. By the praises he sung to certain students it was obivous that he was already picking favourites. They'd had to make a potion involving the handling of toads' eyes and rats' toes, something Teddy was rather uncomfortable with, but Tess had been fine with that sort of thing (so much for his masculine ego) and, to his surprise, their potion was quite a success. He couldn't help but beam alongside Tess when Slughorn praised their potion, his hair turning a rather bright shade of yellow which caused Slughorn to tell them a story about how during his mother's first potions lesson she had somehow managed to knock over four cauldrons and spilling the contents everywhere resulting in the classroom floors being neon pink for the rest of the year.

"Ah, little Nymphadora," Slughorn recalled fondly, "a walking safety hazard if there ever was one."

Teddy had grinned, always happy to hear stories about his parents though, he had to admit, he was glad that, though he was a bit clumsy, he wasn't quite as nearly as bad as his mother.

Cassiopeia's potion, he noticed from across the classroom, also appeared to be a success. Though the congratulations Slughorn had offered were a lot tenser than the ones he had given Teddy and Tess. There was something off. He'd noticed how Slughorn's voice had quivered ever so slightly when he'd first noticed Adrianna and Cassiopeia in the front row - though it was the latter, Teddy was sure, that was the subject of Slughorn's unease - and he had paled ever so slightly when he had gotten close to her to look into her cauldron.

Maybe he just disliked her but somehow Teddy had a feeling it was more than that. Slughorn didn't seem the sort to simply dislike people. Their was something about his friend that put the professor on his guard. Internally, Teddy was rather impressed with himself for noticing all of this. It was times like these that he appreciated the fact that his father was a werewolf. Despite his hightened senses, however, he was no mind reader. He just wished he knew what was bothering old Sluggy.

He turned back to Tess, chatting idly with her for a couple of minutes before glancing back across the classroom. Cassiopeia was watching Slughorn, a frown etched onto her features. So she had noticed something too? She continued to watch the professor for a few more seconds before switching her expression to one of neutrality and turning to face Adrianna, who was talking to her.

Class was dismissed not ten minutes later and Teddy was walking out the door with Myles, Evan and Tess, headed for transfiguration with Professor Alder. On his way out, however, he caught gazes with Cassie and he suddenly remembered his earlier concern - that their friends' fight had somehow damaged their friendship.

As if she had read his thoughts, Cassiopeia's lips curled upwards in a small, reassuring smile that comforted Teddy immensely. He smiled back at her.

_See you later, _he mouthed and waited for her to nod before leaving the classroom with his house-mates.

* * *

><p>Just as she reached the door, about to follow Adrianna out of the classroom, Cassiopeia looked over her shoulder at Professor Slughorn's back. He too had given her the looks that so many others - always the adults - had but there was something different this time. Something more. After all, the man had been completely on edge.<p>

She didn't know what is was though and, more than anything, that fustrated her. What was it about her that disturbed people so, Slughorn even more than the rest?

She wanted answers but had the feeling that no one was prepared to give them to her. Well, if that was the case she'd just have to find out herself, wouldn't she?


End file.
